Containers made of foam insulating materials, including insulated shipping containers, provide excellent insulation for their contents. Such insulated shipping containers are widely used to maintain the temperature of shipped materials near refrigeration levels, thereby promoting preservation of the material. Such containers can be made from a number of foam materials including expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS) and Urethane. Such containers are generally made by molding, or they can be formed from bonded panels. Bonding works nearly as well as molding to provide hermetic sealing at the edges, and maintain comparable insulating properties.
The disadvantages of bonding or molding is the cost and time involved. Molding can generally only be done by the container manufacturer, and thus there is a limit on the size and shapes of containers available. Smaller or larger containers are desirable for shipping materials of different dimensions. Bonding can be done on-site, but it time-consuming and labor-intensive to accomplish. Also, unless done in accordance with specifications, it may result in a container which is considerably weaker than a molded container. Thus, a simple, fast, inexpensive method of joining insulating panels, which achieves a strong container, is desirable.